A New Adventure (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Grace prepares for a big change.


_Mari & Ilna-_ _All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine._

 _Sandy-_ _They sold their bodies to medicine for money. About $30, I think._

 _REAL Worlders-_ _If I'm here and you're here, doesn't that make it our time? Certainly, there's nothing wrong with a little feast on our time._

Today's ANs brought to you by _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_

* * *

 **A New Adventure (1/1)**

 **McGarrett Rollins Home**

 **Saturday**

 **9:00 A.M.**

"Thanks for taking me shopping for school clothes, Auntie Cath," Grace said as they sat on the deck of the beach house with Steve and Danny finishing up breakfast. "Mom and Stan are out of town until the middle of next month and Danno offered to take me but … " she trailed off with a small smile and a shrug.

"All I'm saying is that just because you're going to a public high school this year it doesn't _necessarily_ mean you have to give up wearing your uniform," Danny said, slightly defensively.

Grace sighed and looked at Catherine pleadingly.

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea," Steve agreed. "It would take all the worry out of getting ready for school. You could probably even sleep a little later."

"You too, Uncle Steve?" Grace moaned as she dropped her head to her hands.

Catherine reached over and patted her back sympathetically. "Don't worry, sweetie. It'll be fine. I looked over the dress code and it's pretty standard stuff."

"What does 'pretty standard stuff' mean?" Steve asked skeptically.

"It's fairly self-explanatory, don't you think?" Catherine rolled her eyes good naturedly as she handed her husband the list of rules Grace had printed off the Kukui High School website.

He perused the list then nodded his enthusiastic approval. "No miniskirts. That's a good rule."

"A very good rule," Danny stated emphatically.

"Did they have that rule when you were in school there, Uncle Steve?" Grace asked.

Steve cleared his throat and looked everywhere but directly at Grace or Catherine. "Um … I don't think they did. No."

"So Jenny Feldman was a miniskirt kind of girl?" Catherine teased.

Steve stared off at the ocean as if trying to summon a memory and furrowed his brow. "I don't remember."

"Sure you don't," Catherine scoffed.

Grace looked at Steve, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Who's Jenny Feldman?"

"She was uh … a girl I knew in school," he answered, still not quite able to meet her eyes.

"Was she your girlfriend?"

Catherine and Danny watched in amusement as Steve squirmed slightly under Grace's questioning.

"Not really," he stammered. "I mean … we went out a couple of times and … watched a few movies …"

'Or didn't watch,' Catherine mouthed from behind Grace.

"Besides … " Steve smiled as his cool demeanor returned. "I never really had what I would consider a girlfriend until I met your Auntie Cath."

Grace sighed dreamily. "Isn't that the most romantic thing ever?"

"Nice save, sailor," Catherine grinned.

Steve smiled and returned to reading the list. "No shirts that show your midriff. That's another good one."

"I agree," Catherine nodded. "But most of those rules are unnecessary when it comes to Grace. You both know full well she isn't the kind of girl who would wear anything tacky or too revealing."

"Definitely not," Grace shook her head adamantly.

"I know that, Monkey. I trust you. It's just that you're going to be around a lot of older girls who will probably seem cool and sophisticated and I don't want you to feel pressured to act or dress older than fourteen."

"I won't," Grace promised. "Besides, if I want to copy someone older I have Auntie Cath and Auntie Kono and Gabby to copy."

Steve watched as a bright smile spread across Catherine's face.

"That's right, Gracie," he beamed. "You're a very smart girl."

Catherine stood up and draped her purse over her shoulder. "We better get going if we expect to get the bulk of this shopping done today."

"You be good and listen to Catherine," Danny reminded Grace. "Get what you need but try not to spend me into the poor house."

"I won't," Grace assured him.

"But just in case if you guys go out to lunch Steve better buy," Catherine added as she and Grace turned and headed into the house.

"Your husband's sense of humor is rubbing off on you," Danny grumbled as they disappeared inside.

He turned to look at Steve and couldn't help but notice the small smile that still graced his features every time someone referred to him as Catherine's husband.

* * *

 **10:30 A.M.**

"How'd Rachel take the whole idea of Gracie transferring to public school?" Steve asked as he and Danny sat in chairs close to the beach taking turns throwing an oversized tennis ball for Cammie.

"Not as bad as I thought she might," Danny conceded. "Her main concern was that I was pressuring Grace to make the change."

"Which you weren't," Steve said matter of factly.

"No, I wasn't. This was all Grace's idea."

Danny tossed the ball and watched Cammie head off after it at full speed.

"Honestly, Steve, she was amazing." Danny smiled proudly. "She told me she had something she needed to talk to Rachel and me about and she asked if it was okay for her to invite Rachel over. Then she sat us down and made a presentation, complete with all kinds of charts and graphs, about why she wanted to go to Kukui High starting this year."

"Sounds like Gracie," Steve smiled.

"She was very honest and told us the biggest reason was cheerleading. The Kukui High team has been state champions for three of the last four years."

"Impressive," Steve nodded.

"The coach of her junior team told her he'd taken her about as far as he could and she really needs a more experienced coach. And since cheerleading is something she's really passionate about … "

"It's no different than a football player who changes schools to play for a certain coach or on a more successful team," Steve said as Cammie returned the ball and waited for it to be thrown again.

"Exactly," Danny said. "But on top of all the cheerleading stuff she researched graduation statistics and the percentage of kids from Kukui that go on to college. She listed all the AP opportunities available and showed everything Kukui has to offer academically as well as extra curricularly."

"That swayed Rachel?"

"That and the fact that we both promised if Grace's grades slip at all or if we get even a whiff of trouble, she'll transfer right back to Sacred Heart."

"You won't have to worry about any of that," Steve said definitively. "Grace is a good kid. She'll be fine in public school."

Danny watched as Cammie took a small detour to examine something at the water's edge. "I know she will. Plus, Linda is transferring too. I heard she created her own presentation for Grandma Josie except hers had to do with the music program."

"Really?"

Danny nodded. "Kukui has a marching band and Sacred Heart doesn't. Both of Linda's folks were in the band and used to tell her how much they loved it so she wants to do it too."

"It's good they're making the change together," Steve said as he watched Cammie splash into the shallow water.

"I looked into it and it turns out a lot of kids transfer to Kukui for high school so she'll know quite a few people. Plus, all the cheerleaders."

"And football players," Steve said, a bit of color draining from his face.

Danny held his hands up in front of him. "Don't start. I do not need that image in my head."

Suddenly a small smile began to creep across Steve's face. "I know the coach of the team, Tim Okalani. Every year he asks me if I can come over and talk to his team about staying out of trouble and how one bad decision can have a major impact on their lives."

"Do you do it?"

"For the last few years I've asked Duke to do it but this year I'm thinking maybe we need to do it ourselves."

Danny sat up straighter. "Excellent idea! But wait … how do we get around Catherine and Kono? They'll accuse us of being overprotective."

"They'll just have to understand … " Steve started off defiantly then his bravado faded. "Maybe we just tell them we're going to observe practice and skip the part about giving a talk."

"That'll probably be best," Danny agreed.

* * *

 **Ala Moana Mall**

 **4:15 P.M.**

"I think we got enough to get me started, don't you?" Grace asked as she surveyed the bags arrayed at her and Catherine's feet as they took a break in the food court.

"These things … combined with the load we already took out," Catherine chuckled. "I think so."

"Good thing we brought the truck instead of your car," Grace giggled.

"Definitely."

"So … " Grace started then her voice faltered.

Catherine waited a few seconds then reached across the table and touched the teenager's forearm. "What is it?"

Grace took a deep breath. "You changed schools a lot when you were a kid, right?"

"I did," Catherine nodded.

Grace twisted her napkin in her hands. "I barely remember what it was like when I first moved here and I started at Sacred Heart. I was little and with all the excitement of moving to Hawaii and Danno moving here too … I don't really remember what it was like."

"Are you nervous about changing schools?" Catherine asked.

"A little. I mean I'm excited too," Grace added quickly. "But a little nervous."

"You have nothing to worry about," Catherine assured her. "You're a great person. All you need to do is be yourself and in no time everyone will see that."

"Is that what you did?"

Catherine nodded. "It's really the only way to go. If you try to pretend you're something you're not, you'll be stuck pretending for your entire high school career. And that would be awful. You be you, Grace. You'll have a bunch of new friends in no time."

"I already have Linda. We have about three quarters of our classes together. Plus, I know all the girls on the cheerleading squad. Most of them I've been going to camps with since I came to the island."

"That's a great start," Catherine said enthusiastically.

"Kara Nichols is the head varsity cheerleader. I heard her telling some of the other girls I was in your and Uncle Steve's wedding. They asked me if I had any pictures and I showed them a few. They all thought it was cool."

Catherine smiled.

"I know I'm gonna like it at Kukui it's just … you know."

"I do know," Catherine said confidently. "If you weren't a little nervous you wouldn't be human. I know you're going to do great but if there's ever anything you need to talk about you know you can go to your parents, or Gabby, or come to Uncle Steve and me."

"I know," Grace smiled brightly. "And that makes me a little less nervous."

"Good," Catherine nodded. "You are gonna love high school."

Grace took a sip of her smoothie. "Hopefully we can keep Danno and Uncle Steve from scaring all the boys away."

Catherine chuckled. "We'll definitely need to work on that."

 **THE END**

* * *

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